[.ca] Very Best Of

The Best Singer/Songwriter You Never Heard of...:
I originally got into the music of Phoebe Snow thanks to singer, Linda Rondstadt. A few years ago I acquired a video tape featuring various Ronstadt peformances from over the years. One of the clips featured a 1978 "Saturday Night Live" appearance where Linda dueted ("The Married Men", "In His Kiss") with another singer named, Phoebe Snow. Well it was love from the first time I heard Snow's voice.It is an amazing instrument that is sensitive, velvety and mellow one moment and is muscular with rip roaring power the next.As an artist, Phoebe Snow seems to be able to tackle everything from folk ("Poetry Man") to pop ("Every Night") to gospel ("Good Times") to R & B and soul ("Shakey Ground", "At Last"). No wonder the recording industry could never catagorize her.She is both a talented songwriter and a musical interpreter. Originally I had the CD "The Best of Phoebe Snow", which I listened to all the time. But recently I've moved on to "The Very Best of Phoebe Snow". The main difference between these two 'best of' CDS? "Very Best" has six more cuts (some of them live performances) and remastered sound. Give a try to this CD and you to will become addicted to this amazing voice.

When will Phoebe release a new CD? I MISS her!:
Having been a Phoebe fan for years and years, I have been getting my "Phoebe Fix" via her commercials on TV - but hey, Phoebe's got fans out here that would love to have a new CD to look forward to! I just got "The Very Best Of...", and, yes, it surely IS the very best! Shakey Ground, Do Right Woman, Teach Me Tonight, Two Fisted Love - and the bonus: At Last - phew! I've finally replaced the old 8 tracks and cassettes, and am ready for more! Does anyone know if she ever tours? Play clubs somewhere (besides the east coast)? We've got this great Blues and Jazz Society in Casper, Wyoming, that brings in high calibre acts - how about paying us a visit, Phoebe!?

Some Of The Very Best:
The title of this compilation should have been "Some of the Very Best of Phoebe Snow." Phoebe Snow has such an impressively eclectic range of work that narrowing it down to one disc is a difficult task at best.Tom Vickers does a pretty good job in highlighting the many facets of an artist that defies classification. Her folk tinged pop masterpiece hit "Poetry Man" is timeless in its appeal and still gets frequent airplay these many years later. Her rendition of Paul Simon's "Something So Right" starts out touchingly restrained yet soulful and builds to an ironic wail that far surpasses the formulaic, straight ahead cover by Barbra Streisand and captures the wistful and playful undertone that Paul Simon conveys so well in much of his songwriting. I am pleased that the previously unreleased live Carnegie Hall performances of "Harpo's Blues" and "Good Times" were included. "Harpo's Blues" in particular demonstrates what a gut wrenching blues performer Phoebe Snow is, as is also the case with her "live" performance of "At Last". If I have any complaint it is that I wish more cuts from "Second Childhood", my personal favorite, had been included or perhaps added to make a 2 disc set. Phoebe snow is often at her best in her jazzier persona with such standouts from Second Childhood like "No Regrets" and "There's a Boat Dats' Leavin' Soon For New York." Another favorite from that same album is "Cash In" with the gospel counterpoint background vocal brilliance of The Jessy Dixon Singers. All in all this compilation is an impressive overview of Ms Snow's unique talent. I recommend that you also explore "Second Childhood" as her most consistently satisfying album.

If you love Phoebe, you'll have to have it:
I agree with Mr. Markham in many respects, that this is only SOME of Phoebe Snow's best music. Everybody has their favorites. For instance, MY favorite Phoebe Snow album is "It Looks like (Phoebe) Snow." Indeed, It's probably one of my top 10 favorites of all time. I would disagree with Mr. Markham, however, in that I think Snow's voice is best shown off in her quieter, more melancholy songs. Nevertheless, this collection is a good overview, and a great place to start if you don't know her work. Listening to Snow's best work makes me happy to be alive. What else can you say?

AWESOME:
This is an excellent CD. Some of this music is nearly 30 years old but sounds as good as ever. My personal favorite is "Never Letting Go." Still touches my heart like none other. If you're a Phoebe fan, this is a must-have CD.

• Poetry Man
• All Over
• Teach Me Tonight
• Don't Let Me Down
• Shakey Ground
• Love Makes A Woman
• Never Letting Go
• Every Night
• Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
• Going Down For The Third Time
• Two Fisted Love
• At Last (live)
• Something Real
• Something So Right
• Harpo's Blues (live)
• Good Times (live)